The needlework and knitting ramblings of a 50something fiber addict. Any technique or project is fair game. Life sometimes gets in the way of my crafts, so you'll hear about my family, too.

Saturday, July 07, 2007

Odessy of the twisted stitch

I've already raved about how Cookie A set the heel stitches up to let the twisted stitch arch gracefully down the side of the gusset on Hedera.

So when I got to the decreases, I was not surprised to find that you move the twisted stitch over to become the last stitch on the gusset needle and that the decrease is formed with the last two and first two stitches of the gusset needles instead of one stitch in, which is more common.

And on the knit plain rounds, one can easily continue to twist that stitch.

BUT on the decrease rounds, there is no instruction as to how to maintain the twistedness of at least the upper (public side) stitch AND decrease at the same time. I'm not sure why Cookie didn't have the twist continue down the side of the foot, but I was determined to twist those stitches all the way to the toes *G*.

Some research was in order. Montse Stanley to the rescue. The side that is normally SSK is easy, a simple "knit two together through the back loops" works perfectly. But the K2T side takes some doing. The "Handknitter's Handbook" version, while twisting, twists in the opposite direction of MY twist.

So after much muttering and tinking back, I figured out a version of Stanley's decrease that twists in the same direction as my 'knit thru the back loop' stitches.

1) Slip the first stitch (the underneath one in the eventual decrease) as if to knit.2) Slip the second stitch (the top one) as if to purl3) Going from RIGHT to left, slip the stitches back onto the left needle - one at a time. (IE. slip the first stitch, then slip the second - this puts the twist into the stitch)4) Knit two together.

Stanley has you slip both of them knitwise and has a complex knit off. I think this one is easier to do, despite the to-ing and fro-ing of the stitches between the needles needed to twist the stitches correctly.

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